Wire handling hand tool



1964 J. A. TRAMONTANA WIRE HANDLING HAND TOOL Filed Nov. 6, 1961INVENTOR. Joseph A. Tramonfana AT TORNEYS- United States Patent3,160,035 WIRE HANDLING HAND T001. Joseph A. Trarnontana, 1736 UentralAve.,

Alameda, Calif. Fiied Nov. 6, 1961, Ser. No. 150,223 7 Claims. (Cl.81-51) This invention relates to a small hand tool for handlingstrand-like material such as wrapped Wire cables.

In manually handling wrapped wire cables for extended periods of timeconsiderable wear and tear on a persons hands is normally experienced.The problem is aggravated in those applications wherein/the strands mustmove through the hand, for example, as where one end of a strand is madefast, while the other end is free to pay out from a supply reel or thelike. i

Such an application, for example, is to be found in making crossconnections in central oifices of telephone systems. There, a reel oftwo-lead or paired wire supplies leads to be first connected toterminals at a location on one side of the office or station. A bight ofwire is then grasped and payed out as a workman proceeds to theterminals at another location to be connected by the same two-conductorwire. In a number of instances it is not unusual to find that two pairedwires, one a transmit wire and the other a receive wire, will have to beconnected between the same two locations; A supply reel is usuallyprovided for each.

The most efficient approach to making such a dual connection between thesame two locations has been considered to be to pay out both strands ofpaired wire at the same time. However, since the two locations to beconnected are sometimes somewhat remote from each other, it is sometimesdifficult to identify which wire is which from a position at the secondlocation to be connected. The problem of identifying which wire isassociated with which particular supply reel could of course be solvedby color coding of the wrapping on the wires, but this has beenconsidered to be too expensive for some applications.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a handtool which saves Wear and tear on a workmans hands while paying out abight of a flexible strand, and which also serves to isolate andidentify a pair of such strands with respect to each other.

It is another object of the invention to provide a hand tool for moreeasily handling flexible wire strand material.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the followingdescription and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing,which discloses, by way of example, the principle of the invention andthe best mode which has been contemplated for applying that principle.

in the drawings:

FIGURE 1 shows in perspective view a preferred em bodiment of theinvention; and

FIGURE 2 shows a modification of the invention shown in FIGURE 1.

The invention includes a pair of members 1 and'2 coupled together inscissor-like fashion by a pin 3. Each of members 1 and 2 is providedwith a grip portion 1a and 2a respectively. Member 1 is provided with aflat broad jaw portion 5, while member 2 includes a pair of groovedsheaves 7 mounted for rotation upon a axle 8. Member 2 includes au-shaped jaw portion 9, the arms of portion 9 being designated 9a. Axle8 is mounted between arms 9a and fastened therein by a cotter pin 11,while sheaves 7 are spaced from arms 9a as well as from each other bywashers 12. Stamped upon the faceportion of U member 9 are the twoinitials R and 3,160,035 .Patented Dec. 8, 1964 Nice T so that each isassociated with one of grooved sheaves 7.

Referring to the drawing, one suitable application for the invention isshown wherein a paired wire and a paired wire 16 are made fast at theirends 15a and 16:: respectively. Wire 15 has been arbitrarily designateda transmit wire while wire 16 is designated a receive wire so that thestamped initials on the face of member 9, as well as the physicalassociation of sheaves 7 with wires 15 and 16, serve to identify thetransmit and receive wires. Wires 15 and 16 are fed from supply reels 18and 19 respectively, located at a location remote from the terminals tobe connected.

As the invention would beused, connections 15a and 16a are first made,wire 15 being led over the groove of the T sheave 7, while wire 16 isledover the R sheave. As thus arranged, squeezing grip portions 1a and2a together lock a bight of wires 15 and 16 over their respectivesheaves 7 It should be noted that sheaves 7 will not touch jaw portion 5when jaw portion 5 is closed upon jaw portion 9. Therefore, withwires ofdiameters smaller than the depthof the grooves in sheaves 7, the bightof each of wires 15 and 16 can be readily payed out from their reelswhile maintaining them separate and identified.

Therefore, it isreadily apparent that a workman using 1 formed generallyto conform to the cylindrical shape of sheaves 7. The distal end of theforwardmost arm 9a of FIGURE 1 has been provided with a cylindricallyshaped surface 14 which fits into the inner curvature of jaw portion 5.tion 5' is retained substantially uniformly spaced from the edges ofsheaves7 throughout a substantial portion of their circumference.

I claim:

1. A wire handling hand tool'comprising a pair of jaw members pivoted toclose upon each other to an abutting face to face relation, an axlecarried in that face of one of said jaw members which opposes the faceof the other jaw member, a grooved sheave mounted for rotation on saidaxle, said other jaw member overlying said sheave, said sheave beingspaced from said other jaw member and free to rotate when said jawmembers are closed to said relation, whereby a flexible wire can be fedover the groove of said sheave while retained therein by closure of theother said jaw member thereacross.

2. A Wire handling hand tool comprising a pair of jaw members pivoted toclose upon each other to an abutting face to face relation, an axlecarried in that face of one of saidjaw members which opposes theface ofthe other jaw member, at least a pair of grooved sheaves overlying saidsheaves, said sheaves being free to rotate when said jaw members areclosed -to said relation,

whereby a pair of flexible wires can be fed over the grooves ofsaidsheaves while retained therein by closure of the other said jawmember thereacross.

3. A wire handling hand tool comprising a first and secend member, eachof said members terminating in a jaw portion disposed in opposedrelation, said members being coupled scissor-like intermediate theirends andidisposed to permit said jaw portions to close upon each otherin abutting relation, one of said jaw portions including an axleextending substantially parallel tojthe- With the above modification,jaw pora 3 axis of said jaw portion and disposed within an opening inthe abutting face thereof, a pair of grooved sheaves mounted forrotation on said axle, the other said jaw portion overlying saidsheaves, said sheaves being sufficiently-spaced from the other saidjawportion when said jaw portions are in abutment whereby a pair offlexible :wire-like strands canbe maintained associated 4 6. A hand toolas defined in claim 5 wherein the jaw portion of said first member isgenerally U-shaped.

7. A hand tool for pulling a bight of wrapped flexible wire from each ofa pair of storage reels comprising a with said sheaves respectivelywhile passing freely there.

over substantially transversely of said jaw portions.

4. The invention according to claim 3 wherein said sheaves are mountedfor independent rotation.

5. A wire handling hand tool comprising a first and sec-. ond elongatemember, each of said members including a jaw portion, the jaw portion ofsaid first member having an overhanging lip tadapted tofoontact the jawportion of said second member, said members being coupled t ogetherintermediate their ends by' pivot means whereby urging said memberstogether at one end closes said jaw portions upon each other in abuttingrelation, an axle supported by. the jaw portion of said firstmember,said axle extending in a plane substantially parallel to the axis ofsaid jaw portion and through said overhanging lip and being spaced fromthe jaw portion of said second member'when said jaw portions are inabutting'relation, at leastone grooved sheave rotatably' mounted on saidaxle, said sheave being disposed to permit rotation when saidjawportions are closed'to abut each other, the jaw portion of saidsecond member being spaced from said sheave by .the overhanging lip ofthe jaw portion or said first member and shaped in substantiallyconforming relation tosaid sheave axially thereof, whereby a flexiblestrand can be fed over the groove of said sheave while enclosed thereinby closure of the jaw portions of said second member thereacross.

first jaw member, a second jaw member pivoted to close scissor-like uponsaid first jaw member, said first jaw member including at least a pairof grooved sheaves mounted toxrotate in a plane transverse to the axisof said first jaw member and disposed in that-face of the first jawmember which opposes the second jaw member, a portion of said second jawmember extending across the edges of said sheaves and having atransverse curvature along a portion of its length in substantiallyconforming relation to the edges of said sheaves, said first jaw memberbeing disposed to abut said second jaw member and to maintain a fixedspaced relation between said second jaw member and the edges of saidsheaves to permit a wrapped wire to be passed between each of saidsheaves and said secondjaw member when said jaw members areclosed inabutting relation upon each other, whereby a. bight of wire can. bepulled from each of a pair of associated storage reels simultaneouslyover both said sheaves. a

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS608,919 Sell Aug. 9, 1898 644,932 Miller Mar. 6, 1900 652,359 Haigh etal June 26, 1900 1,004,309 'Swenson Sept. 26, 1911 1,025,987 Long May14, 1912 1,442,170 Moore Jan. 16, 1923 1,764,457 Curley June 17, 19302,342,068 White Feb. 15, 1944 2,968,096 Bonito et a1. Jan. 17, 1961

1. A WIRE HANDLING HAND TOOL COMPRISING A PAIR OF JAW MEMBERS PIVOTED TOCLOSE UPON EACH OTHER TO AN ABUTING FACE TO FACE RELATION, AN AXLECARRIED IN THAT FACE OF ONE OF SAID JAW MEMBERS WHICH OPPOSED THE FACEOF THE OTHER JAW MEMBER, A GROOVED SHEAVE MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ON SAIDAXLE, SAID OTHER JAW MEMBER OVERLYING SAID SHEAVE, SAID SHEAVE BEINGSPACED FROM SAID OTHER